‘The Volunteers Are What Save Me And Bring Me Back’: Nelsonville Music Festival Celebrates 20 Years

This conversation originally aired in the May 31, 2026 episode of Inside Appalachia.

This year, the Nelsonville Music Festival in southeast Ohio will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Over the years, the festival has hosted a who’s who of American music icons, like John Prine, Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn, while also supporting regional artists.  

Inside Appalachia Associate Producer Abby Neff sat down with director and founder Tim Peacock to talk about the festival. 

The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.

Peacock: I’m Tim Peacock. I am the founder and director of the Nelsonville Music Festival and the artistic director at Stuart’s Opera House.

Neff: What is Nelsonville Music Festival for people who do not know?

Peacock: Oh, wow. The Nelsonville Music Festival is a small, dare I say intimate, music festival that is very community-centered that takes place here in Nelsonville, Ohio. We are told that it’s unlike other festivals because it’s a pretty eclectic lineup. We are known and recognized, I think, as a festival of discovery, where people come and learn and discover new bands. But we also have nationally and internationally recognized bands from very beginnings of careers to towards the ends of careers.

Neff: Why did you start NMF? 

Peacock: This is going to be our 20th year. Technically, it’s our 22nd year, but the pandemic … we canceled two years, so it’s our 20th festival. We started it because it is produced and owned and run by Stuart’s Opera House, which is a nonprofit historic theater in the downtown square in Nelsonville, Ohio. As a nonprofit, as with any nonprofit, we are always trying to raise money so we can support our year-round mission, which is primarily bringing arts education to young people, adults, and sometimes elderly people here in Nelsonville and the surrounding region. So, the festival was started as a fundraiser for Stuart’s Opera House. 

Neff: So, what sets the festival apart from other live music events? This festival seems to be, at least from attendees, pretty unique.

Peacock: It’s hard for me to answer because I’ve never been an attendee. I believe what sets it apart is it feels very community based. It feels non corporate. We don’t have any giant corporate sponsored stages. We’ve never pursued such things.

It’s not only just music. We have 30 to 40 local, regional artisan vendors who make art and sell at our festival, we feel important about supporting, like, all of our food vendors who come and have a huge weekend down here in southeast Ohio, which those opportunities aren’t as prevalent as in more populated areas, of course. People tell us they really love the aspect of discovering new bands. There’s been a term that people say now is, “Discover your new favorite band at the Nelsonville Music Festival.” So, I think it attracts voracious music lovers who are interested in learning and hearing things that they’re unfamiliar with. 

Neff: I kind of wanted to talk a little bit about the volunteers. When I first heard about Nelsonville Music Festival, I told my friends I wanted to go. They were like, “Oh, you’ve got to volunteer, you gotta volunteer,” and that’s not something I’ve really heard about at a lot of other music festivals. So, if you just wanted to talk a little bit about the camaraderie of the volunteers and the culture of the volunteering.

Peacock: I’m gonna get emotional. Yeah, I think that is the magic. Our volunteers, which are usually around 500, are the essence of the Nelsonville Music Festival. It is our community. I think people really love volunteering in addition to getting a ticket in exchange for their time and labor. They feel like they’re part of this thing, and they take ownership of this thing.

It’s beautiful to watch. We’ve had kids grow up who came with their parents when they were young who now volunteer as adults. We have friends who met each other volunteering in the beer garden who are now married and have their own children and bring kids to the festival. So, in addition to, just in general being a community event, it’s a really family-friendly event that we watched people grow up at the festival. And many of them become active participants at the festival when they grow up, sometimes while they’re still young. Whenever I’m burning out on doing this type of work, I suppose people burn out in whatever type of work they’re doing, The volunteers are what save me and bring me back. 

Neff: What can people expect about this year’s festival? 

Peacock: They can expect finding new bands, hopefully their new favorite band. We have a few secrets in store for this year that we haven’t done before at the festival, since this is our 20th, there’s a couple special things we’re working on.

Neff: Tim, thank you so much for speaking with me today.

Peacock: Yeah, thanks, Abby, I appreciate it.